Learning to speak Italian is our passion…

Welcome to Italian4u

If you are based in Huddersfield, Brighouse, Halifax, Leeds or Holmfirth and you are looking to learn the Italian language for your holidays, to broaden your skill set for the future, or maybe your business would benefit from communicating in the Italian language, then you have arrived at the perfect place.

The fascination we have with Italy – the culture, the food, the art, the Opera and songs, the fashion and the country, make learning this wonderful language such a good idea.

Italian4U offers a wide choice of Italian courses where the lessons include a balance of speaking, listening, reading and writing activities and exercises.

Our aim is to consider every learner as an individual and satisfy their exact needs. We guarantee we will have something at Italian4u to suit you or your business. All classes are taught by native speaking Italian tutor Raffaella Hinchliffe who has a wealth of experience in teaching the language.

So don’t wait any longer, call us now and don’t just learn it… LOVE it…

Your Teacher

Hello, My name is Raffaella Hinchliffe the name behind Italian4U. I was born in Rome where I lived and grew up with my family. After I got married, I came to live in England. I’ve been an Italian teacher since 1998, and I worked at Huddersfield Kirklees College for 12 years, teaching different types of Italian courses, delivering a wide range of syllabus, from beginner’s classes to intermediate, advanced, conversation, GCSE and “A” levels’ classes.

I have also taught Italian to local businesses and I have provided a respected translation service.

I am passionate about my culture and my Italian heritage, especially about my language. I am also very passionate about the Italian history of art, before I came to live in England I used to be an art restorer and I had some great opportunities to work in some amazing medieval and renaissance churches and buildings in the centre of Rome and the outlying areas of Rome.

I always spend my holidays in Italy with my children, my husband and with my Italian family. For me it’s important to maintain strong connections with my roots and I would like my children to thoroughly understand and to accept Italian customs and traditions.

I look forward to working with you or your business.

Recent News

Language teachers set up on their own after redundancy from Kirklees College. LANGUAGE teachers made redundant by Kirklees College have set up their own school. The seven women lost their jobs after cut-backs at the college earlier this year. But the teachers have now set up on their own – offering classes in five languages

Former Kirklees College lecturers struck out on their own after redundancy Chris Sun, Raffaella Hinchliffe, Mako Byram, Annick Helliwell, Marina Breslin, Laurence Dickinson, Ros Tyler and Gillian Leah at Cathedral House, Huddersfield There were congratulations in many foreign tongues for teachers at a language school, who celebrated their third anniversary since setting out on their

What Our Students Say

Raffaella is that great combination of a talented teacher and a genuinely nice person. She takes the time to explain the language and puts things into the context of real life in Italy. I really enjoy the lessons and it makes all the difference to learn with someone who has a passion for the language and the culture!

My husband and I have been learning the Italian language for approximately five years. During that time we have had a variety of teachers, but for us, having an Italian teacher has made all the difference to our learning, in particular our pronunciation. With Raffaella the lessons are well structured, varied and we immensely enjoy our time in her classes.

I have been learning Italian for about 4 years. I began studying this beautiful language because I have Italian family and friends and I wanted to be able to communicate more easily with them when on holiday in Italy. I thoroughly enjoy the Italian classes taught by Raffaella as the varied teaching styles and activities make the lessons fun and interactive. I look forward to my Italian lesson every week and know that as a result of attending my confidence when speaking and writing Italian has increased.

I have been studying Italian on and off for about 5 years. I initially did a lot of self studying but found this didn't have the structure I was looking for. 3 years ago I did my Italian GCSE which I passed and for the last 2 years I have been studying post GCSE Italian with Raffaella. I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed being taught Italian by Raffaella and can honestly say that she is the best Italian teacher I have ever had. One of her exceptional skills is she can explain Italian from a foreign language perspective and distance herself from it (even though it is her native language) where I have found other Italian teachers are unable to do this. After this year I am hoping to start A level Italian and hope Raffaella is able to teach me as I wouldn't want anybody else to teach me.

I always look forward to going to my Italian class. Raffaella combines a number of teaching methods, including planned conversation topics, books, films, and listening and grammar exercises. These mean that you not only learn but learning is interesting and fun. When studying anything, it is not enough for the teacher just to know the subject – they must also know how to teach it. Raffaella is a natural teacher and has the knack of breaking down the language into digestible chunks – making it seem easy. Of course, it also makes an enormous difference to learn Italian from someone who is actually Italian! I highly recommend Raffaella - whether you just want to learn a bit of Italian before going on holiday (which is how I started, 4 years ago!), need some extra tuition for an exam, or want to go the whole hog and become fluent in the language.